Friday, August 21, 2015

The Travel List: The Bahamas

If you follow along on Instagram, you probably saw a few pieces of our trip to the Bahamas. I have always loved going to Atlantis, and this trip was especially nice because it gave me a few days to recharge and relax + spend time with my family. It is rare that all 5 of us are together (just the 5 of us) these days with our busy schedules: my brother has been in college, I work full-time out of town, and my sister is a busy 16 year-old. This trip gave us 4 days of time just the 5 of us, which I really enjoyed.

When we planned a trip, I was very excited to head back to Atlantis. Each time we go, we've stayed in a different tower, and this time, we stayed at The Cove. I would highly recommend it - it houses beautiful rooms, several great restaurants, including Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill, and an adults-only pool.

Day 1 and Travel:

The alarm went off bright and early at 4:30am, and by 5:30, all 5 of us had kissed our pup babies good by, packed the suitcases in the car, and were in the car headed to the airport. We successfully made it through security and our flight left Wilmington at 7:25. After a quick layover in Atlanta, we were Nassau-bound. I kept myself entertained with HGTV and People Style Watch mags while doing some clean-up on my camera's SD card. Before long, we had arrived in the beautiful Bahamas!

I was slightly disappointed when we landed because it was overcast, and by the time we were in the SUV headed to the resort, it was pouring down rain. We did have to wait awhile to check-in to our room (bummer), but it was definitely worth the wait. We had a delicious lunch in one of the lounges and sat outside in the open-air lobby, which is incredible. By the time we were all unloaded into the room, the weather was perfect. My mom, sister, and I donned our suits and headed to the beach, while the boys hit the casino.

We ended our evening with dinner in the Great Hall of Waters + wandering through the casino. I even got lucky on the slot machines. As far as dinner goes, the Great Hall of Waters was a good option for kid-friendly meals, but the buffet-style was not necessarily my favorite meal of the trip.

I was like a kid in the candy store when I woke up on Saturday morning - I couldn't wait for a day in the sun. We headed down to Mosaic for breakfast, another buffet-style restaurant complete with pancake and omelette stations, multi-cultural food options, and plenty of freshly-squeezed orange juice. When my breakfast plate is filled with omelettes, pancakes, and fresh fruit, breakfast is easily my favorite meal of the day.

One of my favorite outdoor spots is Aquaventure, which includes a concept similar to a lazy river, but it instead has waves and rapids. This is the perfect way to relax in the sun but stay cool and entertained. I sat there for quite a few hours.

After awhile, my mom, dad and sis went back up to the room while my brother and I went to Cain, the 18+ pool that gives off a Miami or Vegas vibe. It's complete with plus lounge chairs and beds, a great DJ, delicious food and great drinks.

After showers, we decided to head in to Nassau to fish fry for a late dinner. Fish fry is a strip of restaurants that serve authentic Bahamian food, and we ended up at Twin Brothers. I rarely eat seafood, but I decided to give it a try and had conch fritters and lobster and gave my dad's grouper fingers a try. Overall, not a bad meal.

We headed back to the resort and popped over to Marina Village, where we wandered through some of the stores before heading back over to the Royal Towers again. We walked through those shops as well before finally heading back to the room.

A new day, another breakfast at Mosaic. After our breakfast, we went back to the room, changed into swimsuits, and headed down to the Cove pool. Before long, we decided to head back over to the river again (clearly, I'm obsessed). I was content to sit there most of the day, alternating between the water and lounging by the pool. Of course, the boys visited the casino, and we explored here and there, but a good portion of the day was spent outside, just where I wanted to be.

For dinner, we ate at Mesa Grill, Bobby Flay's restaurant at Atlantis, and it was definitely a great meal. I failed to grab a picture, but I opted for the New York Strip and a twice baked potato. Also on the table? Conch appetizers, sweet potatoes au gratin, spiced chicken, and salmon. So delicious and definitely the best meal on the trip - definitely a restaurant I would recommend.

Our last full day started with another delicious breakfast. My dad, mom, sister and I headed into Nassau to the straw market. We picked up a few souvenirs for friends and family and wandered in some of the specialty shops in downtown Nassau. It was a hot morning, so we headed back to the resort to hit the beach.

After an hour or so on the beach, my dad and brother headed back to the casino, my sis took a break from the sunshine, and my mom and I headed back to - you guessed it - the river. After a couple of hours floating along in the warm water, mom and I went over to Cain pool for drinks and a snack, and I finally delved in to the book that I took on my trip. I read The Hurricane Sisters, definitely a great beach or rainy Sunday read.

For dinner, the boys and girls split up. Mom, my sister, and I went to Mosaic for their dinner buffet as our other choice was on a waiting list until 9:30 and we were starving + it was pouring so our other dinner options that required out door walking were put on hold. After dinner, it finally stopped raining so we wandered back over to Marina Village to look in the shops once more and snag some Ben & Jerry's ice cream. I was tired from being in the sun all day but definitely sad that it was our last night.

We all woke up relatively early and started packing to head back home. We headed down for our last dinner at Mosaic - complete with omelette and coconut pancakes, of course - and finished up packing efore checking out. Check out time was at 11, and we had some time to kill before heading back to the airport. We sat in the gorgeous outdoor lobby of the Cove once last time, and it seriously felt like we had just been sitting there on our arrival day.

We headed to the airport, got all checked in, and realized our flight was delayed. We had a connection in Atlanta, and the longer we waited the more anxious we got. We had a great flight into Atlanta, and practically ran from one terminal to the other to catch our flight to Wilmington. As soon as we walked up to the gate, we heard them saying they had closed the ramp due to strong storms, and that would be the first of two weather delays. We finally left Atlanta after 9:00pm, meaning we departed after the time we should've arrived back home. It was a late night for all of us, but I'm happy we had such a fun trip.

If you have any questions or want more info on the Bahamas or Atlantis, I would love to answer! I have so many more tiny details and so many pictures - but this post is already overloaded!

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